Champ Level Conscience
by Instant Classic Superstar Pac
Summary: After winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at No Surrender, A.J. Styles finds congratulations from new and old friends, including one former tag team championship partner with regrets from the past. Two-shot.
1. The Phenomenal Winner

_**Champ Level Conscience**_ by Instant Classic Superstar Pac

Disclaimer: I own nothing, and this has nothing to do with any of my other stories.

Rating: T

Summary: After winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at No Surrender, A.J. Styles finds congratulations from new and old friends, including one former tag team championship partner with regrets from the past. Two-shot.

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**Chapter 1: The Phenomenal Winner**

An upbringing filled with strife and hardship will culminate into a career littered with twists, turns, ups, and downs that one never could've seen coming. Yet it was moments, nights, triumphs, like this one that would fulfill the stuff of dreams and feel truly phenomenal.

"Phenomenal" was actually the adjective all too familiarly used in describing the man that walked through the corridors of the Impact Zone with a white towel draped over one shoulder and the championship title belt hanging over the other one. In fact, it had pretty much become his main nickname. But of course, this was one of the nights where he truly felt that way. Because the title belt hanging over his shoulder wasn't just any championship belt. It was the title belt that his whole life had been poured through destiny into realizing and obtaining. The TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

The long, arduous journey of A.J. Styles' wrestling career could best be described as the ascension of a man. From his considerably humble beginnings in Gainesville, Georgia, riddled with poverty, an abusive father, and a staunch belief in God to ride him through it, he was able to make his way through college with a partial scholarship in amateur wrestling, though he would eventually leave to become a professional wrestler. Making his way up through the NWA promotion Wildside, he found himself attracting the attention of World Championship Wrestling in its fleeting years. Some time after WCW folded, he was able to land jobs in both the independent juggernaut Ring of Honor and the newly created NWA-linked Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. In fact, apart from the founder Jeff Jarrett, who wasn't even on TV anymore, he was the only guy left in TNA that had been there literally since day one. (There were still quite a few that could virtually make the same claim, though, like his best friend Christopher Daniels.)

As he walked through the hallways trying to find his locker room, his journey through time in TNA flashed before his eyes, as he remembered so much, the days at the Asylum in Nashville to the beginnings of Impact to the mainstream expansion which started in 2006, all the way through to today, and he recognized so many fond memories, on top of so many hard ones as well. There were the aforementioned original days which began in Nashville, where guys like himself and Christopher Daniels would begin to craft the X-Division, and TNA itself, into something amazing that had never been seen before. For him, this included the triple crown, winning all the titles a guy could win in TNA over the years. There was the Unbreakable rivalry in 2005 that through mutual respect would forge one hell of a friendship between himself, Daniels, and Samoa Joe. There was the very successful tag team between himself and Daniels in '06. His subsequent frustrations after losing the belts, which led to his falling out with Rhino later that year and joining Christian Cage in the Coalition in '07. There was the Kurt Angle situation which had come to a boiling point in '08 which led him to finally stand up and fight once he got knocked down. There was, of course, the war waged between the hungry originals who got their first TV contracts through TNA, plus some others who believed in the company, and the… well, jaded, to say the least, legends who would come to form the Main Event Mafia.

Of course, during everything, between all the incredible matches through which he sought to soar like no other, there were definitely some tough moments. Especially over the past few years, he'd seen many a time when he'd felt like throwing his arms up and quitting, whether because of his own insecurities, the serious hardship of the problems, or most likely some varying combination of both. So many friends had come and gone, so many people he thought he could know and trust for life had fallen out with him or lost contact after leaving the company.

But of course, the whole time he's had his wife, and later his children, to inspire him. His loving wife Wendy, whose collegiate aspirations he'd actually turned down an offer from WWE to support. His sons Ajay, Avery, and Albey - the first of which took his middle name from one Christopher Daniels, and the third of which was actually born this past Tuesday just minutes before Pélé-kicking the doctor. Which made tonight all the more majestic.

Tonight, at the pay-per-view event No Surrender, A.J. had been scheduled to take on the icon Sting, who'd actually helped him get back on his feet when he was seriously on the verge of walking away a few weeks ago, along with the scourge of his recent career, Kurt Angle, and the young, athletic, cocky, vicious, and quite frankly huge Matt Morgan. "Super Mex" Hernandez actually tried to get himself into the fray by cashing in his Feast or Fired briefcase for the title match tonight, but Eric Young would end up taking him out of the equation before he ever really got into it. Eric Young… only the latest of his former friends to have betrayed him… how ironic he'd be taking out one of A.J.'s opponents on a night like this, although it was obviously for his own selfish reasons and A.J. would never be one to ask for such a favor. Though, that wouldn't be the only one he ever got that night.

Towards the end point of the match, Angle had Sting in the Ankle Lock, only to be clocked clean by Morgan via Catbon Footprint. Sting would send Morgan out over the top rope, and with Angle in the middle, Sting shared a brief look with A.J. before leaving the ring and taking out Morgan, allowing A.J. to take advantage. Of course, this was only followed by the springboard 450° splash and pin cover that lifted the weight of the world and resulted in the wrestling moment that would last a lifetime in his memories.

It wasn't that Sting's kindness was the sole reason he currently held the title, per se. That was mainly up to A.J.'s own hard work, athletic ability, growth as a man in professional wrestling, and honestly the blood, sweat, and tears that he'd poured into TNA over the past seven years. But Sting had a lot to do with producing _the_ crowning moment, which at the very least, A.J. made a mental note, sufficed for an interesting topic of conversation with the icon down the line.

All in all, the crowning moment had arrived tonight, and Styles had never felt so good in his life. Less than a week after becoming a father for the third time, he was finally the TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Now finally standing in front of his locker room, A.J. was about to go in, have a nice breather, and change, though he had a feeling half the locker room wouldn't even let him do that much before celebrating the victory…

"A.J., hold up!" came a call from behind him, just in time to stop him from opening the door. It was Daniels.

"Chris! What's going on?" the new champ couldn't help to ask.

"Well, for one thing," Daniels said, holding up a navy blue Sprint LG Rumor, "I've been guarding your phone."

"What?" Styles asked as he took the phone back onto his own person.

"Yeah. Before you left the locker room to go looking for your belt," Daniels started to reply, taking a brief pause as he eyed the object on A.J.'s right shoulder, "which I can see you've finally found, you left the phone right on the table after you finished with Wendy."

"Oh. Thanks, man," A.J. stated, before starting to move for the door. "I'm goin' in to change. I got a real good feeling this night is not o…ver, yet."

Not only was the night not over yet, but even that sentence wasn't over yet before he found himself victim to the original version of his TNA theme song ringing from his cell phone. Quickly he looked at the caller ID, and a smile came over his face.

"Speak o' the devil, I already got a call," A.J. spoke proudly.

"Huh? Who is it?" Daniels asked.

"You might recognize him. Captain Charisma, the Instant Classic-"

"Okay, I got it. It's Christian. You know, you really should just work on answering the phone sometimes," Daniels stated, cutting off his best friend once he'd received just about enough hint about the old 'peep' who was probably calling to pay Styles congratulations. Of course, from there A.J. finally answered.

"Christian?"

"A.J.! I just got a tip from Edge you won the main event tonight at No Surrender. Congratulations, baby boy, you're the champ now!" came the voice on the other side, and sure enough, it was the former Coalition general himself.

"Yep. That I am!" he shouted loudly and proudly, having himself a heartfelt chuckle. "And man alive, I can tell ya - it feels just like you said it would. I know I've been champion before, but never with TNA bein' this high as it is right now - and let me tell ya, it feels that much better! I feel great! I feel stupendous! I feel phenomenal!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, no need to try over-dramatize, alright? I know exactly what it feels like to be the champ. I am the current ECW Champion, you know," Christian proceeded to remind him, cutting his flow for a second.

"Yeah, third brand champion. That's a really big accomplishment there, Christian," A.J. retorted, seeing the invitation to a battle of wits and taking it in full stride.

"Well, actually, it is. I mean, I hate to reign on your parade, but A.J.… it may be third brand to the WWE, but my show still gets watched more than yours," Christian countered. A.J. could only enter a sardonic chuckle at the moment.

"Nice to know you could turn this whole discussion about my World Heavyweight title win about how you're on a more watched program. And all this and you still never told me where you are? You're a real swell guy, Christian," A.J. quipped back. This time, he could hear a chuckle from the other side.

"Sorry, A.J. I guess you win this round. I mean, it is your night, after all," Christian conceded. "Seriously speaking, I'm glad you're the TNA World Heavyweight Champion. If I personally had a choice of anybody to put it on, I'd probably pick you. And the reason I say probably is because I gotta keep up appearances, me being the guy with the whole big Peepulation and everything. But don't let a little fact get in the way of a good line."

"Don't worry. I won't," the Phenomenal One 'assured' his former leader.

"Also seriously speaking… I heard you and Wendy got a third kid last week?" Christian inquired.

"Yeah. Past Tuesday, actually," A.J. clarified. "We named him Albey. And he came out with a Pélé, too. Right to the doctor."

"Did you help him out with that, or did J.B. tweet you a story to tell?" Christian questioned.

"Oh, no - I've been found out!" A.J. mock panicked, resulting in a laugh coming from Captain Charisma. "Seriously, though. Albey sent me a text message to congratulate me on winnin' tonight?"

"I wonder if I should tell Edge that A.J. Styles' five-day-old kid is more technologically adept than he is," Christian remarked. "He might be mortified!" He said this in reference to when he won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship about 3½ years ago. Edge had texted congratulations in the Captain's direction.

"Nah, I wouldn't say 'more' technologically adept. Probably a little less," A.J. pulled back, "but still pretty good."

"Yeah, I'd bet gold he probably got a little help from mommy. Then again, I don't have gold. I have steel," Christian deduced.

"And that's something to be proud of?" A.J. took the irresistible jab opportunity.

"I'm a champion, right?" Christian pointed out.

"Okay, you got a point," A.J. admitted. "But speaking of kids, how are you and Denise doing?"

"Ah… no. A.J. No," Christian immediately cut him. "All I'm gonna tell you about that is, don't believe everything you read." He understood A.J.'s subsequent silence as understanding that that subject was out of conversation. "Anyway, this whole time we've been talking on the phone here I forgot to tell you that I just finished working a house show. By the way, uh… where's Daniels?"

"Oh, he's still right behind me, I think. You wanna talk to him?" Styles offered, to which Daniels stirred in curiosity, figuring the subject of conversation had turned to him for a second.

"Nah, I'm good. But you can send him a little message for me, right?" Christian asked.

"Yeah, sure," A.J. replied. "What?"

"Tell him he did awesome tonight, and that if he keeps it up, he can beat King Bowser Samoa and save the X-Division," Christian told him, referring to a certain plump violent Samoan with the 'King Bowser' line.

"Absolutely," A.J. replied with a nod.

"Good. But back to you, A.J.," Christian quickly switched pace. "I think you should know that there's a reason everybody in the Peep Zone-"

"Impact Zone!" A.J. earnestly corrected him.

"Alright, alright. A.J., there's a reason why everybody in the Impact Zone quickly rushed the ring once you became champion, and it's like this," Christian began. "True peeps out there know the big long road you took to get here. They know the talent that you are in the ring, and they know the man that you are out of it. And for that, they respect you. You are the man who they have wanted to see as the World Heavyweight Champion for a long time. Trust me, I know a little bit about the subject." The last part earned a chuckle from A.J.

"Well, thanks, man. That… that really means a lot to me," A.J. acknowledged, the nod being fully heartfelt at this point.

"Glad it does, my friend," Christian stated, obviously tryin to "feign" his humility. "Hey, listen, though - sorry, A.J., but I gotta cut this off. I was talking to Edge before I decided to call you, and uh… kinda promised him I wouldn't keep too long."

"Okay. Take care, Christian. And good luck on ECW!"

"Right back at ya on the future of TNA, buddy. We'll talk later! Cause that's how I roll," Christian confidently asserted, A.J. laughing happily at this point.

"Later!" A.J. bade him adieu, before pressing the 'end' button and folding up his phone.

"Sounds like you had fun," Daniels' voice suddenly spoke behind him, causing the new TNA Champion to turn around. "You guys were talking about me for a second, weren't you?"

"Yeah, he just wanted me to say you did awesome against Joe, and if you keep it up you'll beat him soon," Styles told him.

"Thanks," the Fallen Angel replied. "You ready to go inside and change?" A.J. nodded. "Well, I'll see you in a few, then."

As the two best friends exchanged a nod, the Phenomenal One started to open the door to his locker room. And as soon as it came ajar, the lights came on, and there was half the TNA roster shouting "CONGRATULATIONS!", including Daniels behind him…

Meanwhile, back in his locker room at the Exposition Building in Portland, Maine, Christian, who'd actually changed back into street clothes just before his phone conversation with Edge started, decided to reboot that angle of dialogue.

"Hey, it's not my fault A.J. actually did something tonight. Give me a break, will ya? What did you think I was gonna do, call him for one second, say congratulations, and then hang up right away? What would that accomplish?" Christian defended himself against a cranky complaint from Edge about what took him so long.

"Simple. Me, not being bored," Edge retorted.

"Okay. Listen. I know it's boring having to sit on your ass through an injury for the thousandth time," Christian began, "but I was talking to a man, to a friend, who just won a World Heavyweight Championship, and last I checked I'm not your babysitter."

"No, because apparently you're counting on Tomko to babysit me, is that it?" Edge countered, the apex of his wits brewing with fire again.

"What's Tomko got to do with any of this?" Christian immediately questioned.

"Uh, nothing, apart from the simple fact that, oh- he's here," Edge informed him in the condescending (or pseudo-such thing, depending on who he's talking to) way that only Edge can.

"Wait, so Tomko's at your house and you're barking at me to talk to you?"

"I've been hanging around with Tomko in here for the past five hours. I need a new voice," Edge countered.

"Ah- you know what? Get him on the phone. I need to talk to him anyway," Christian immediately requested. He did need to talk to Tomko, but he was hoping the big man would give him a call as soon as he reached the States again. He just didn't know was that the guy was already stateside again, visiting and hanging out with an injured and utterly cranky Edge.

"Fine," Edge gruffly replied after a brief pause. Immediately thereafter, Christian could hear Edge shouting Tomko's name in the background, and what barely sounded like a brief conversation between the two, presumably Edge explaining that Christian was on the phone.

"Hello?" Tomko answered after a short while.

"Hey, man! It's good to hear from you! How's Japan been treating the Problem Solver?" Christian greeted his friend of five years.

"Well, right now I'm not exactly known as the Problem Solver out in Japan, but that's a different story for a new day," Tomko responded. "So what's up?"

"I actually, um… talked to A.J., just a couple minutes ago," Christian explained.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know. Heard Edge complainin'," Tomko informed him, to which Captain Charisma offered a small laugh.

"Seriously, I told ya. Jericho must've really got to the guy, because he's getting really, really grumpy," the captain replied.

"Who, Edge or A.J.?" Tomko asked.

"Why would A.J. be grumpy after winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship five days into fathering a third kid?" Christian answered with a longer-winded question - one of the witty quirks that defined his charisma. "About that, though. Now I understand how Gangrel must've felt when he saw me and Edge win a couple of world titles."

"A couple? Edge has got, like, nine," Tomko corrected him.

"I'm sorry, was that you trying to be funny?" Christian asked rhetorically. "Because, that failed, Tomko. Sorry. Leave the charisma to me."

"Right," Tomko conceded, backing off that avenue with a laugh.

"Hey, it's all good though," Christian assured him. "Anyway, any updates on everybody else? You know, Daniels, Roode, Stormy, people like that?"

"Beer Money and 3D kicked seriously elite ass in a cage. Daniels… **really** contested Samoa Joe, but he couldn't beat him. Pope Burke and Suicide have a bit of a problem, and not only did ODB kick the crap outta that little idiot Cody Deaner, the Knockouts actually have a new tag title," Tomko reported as Christian, unsurprised, took in the TNA updates. Though described by some as being "army strong", Tomko wasn't just a big guy with a strong boot and clothesline. Actually quite the student of the game, even after leaving TNA he'd pay close attention to goings-on in that promotion and study up on moves and tactics that he was seeing there.

"Well, if you talked to Daniels often I'd ask you not to tell him this," Christian admitted as a segue, "but I'm not really shocked that he couldn't beat Joe. I mean, for crying out loud, even I could barely beat him, you know?"

"Yeah. He's a real stiff and vicious guy, and that's actually what people wanna see from him." Tomko remarked.

"Sadly, by 'people' you also mean the bald eagle machine, the hollow-legged giant wizard guy, and their walking band of geriatrics," Christian complained in his own comical way, obviously lamenting the way the Main Event Mafia had sent him packing from that company. Not that he wasn't generally over that particular happening in and of itself, which he was by leaps and bounds now since becoming ECW Champion, but it still left a bit of a sour taste in his mouth that they were continuing on even worse than they were when they'd done it to him. It was like those guys were trying to railroad the entire company for the sake of Angle's ego. Little did he know, Tomko was embroiled in similar thoughts involving the only Olympic Gold Medalist in professional wrestling history, though his sentiments against Kurt ran easily further back than the Main Event Mafia. Though, the silence on the other side accompanying his own would soon tell him that.

"Tomko?" he called, receiving no answer after three seconds. "Tomko!"

"Whoa! Yeah, I'm here," Tomko hurriedly replied. He must've been deeply fixed on his thoughts.

"You were thinking about Angle and why you left too, weren't you?" Christian immediately guessed further and aloud. The sigh that came from the other side before any words definitely confirmed it for him.

"Yes," Tomko finally replied. "I mean, I just… I can't believe how stupid I was, man."

"Hey, you better watch out, cause if Edge hears you saying this, he'll be decking your ears for weeks about how he could've told you the same thing was gonna happen because that's the kinda gearbox that Kurt Angle is," Christian easily pointed out, once again trying to add some light to the conversation. This time, Tomko was with him enough to offer a chuckle, but that's still not exactly being totally responsive.

"Hey, uh, here's a thought, man - while you're still here for awhile, you should try and go talk to him," Christian suggested. If Tomko was listening, he'd know full well who and what he was talking about.

"I don't know… I mean, it's not like I can just walk in like we're still friends and shout 'Congratulations, buddy! You did it!' I'll have both him and Chris breathing down my neck if I do that," the Man of Principles replied. He had a good point, Christian realized - I mean, there was no reason they shouldn't breathe down his neck in suspicion if he suddenly tried to play buddy-buddy with them after what he did, more importantly what he briefly became, toward the end of his run.

"Well, then don't. Just be perfectly honest," the always-thinking livewire suggested, having a definitive answer for even this situation. "Just say what you have to say, and more importantly while you're doing it, just be the real Tomko. It'll take awhile, but he's a bit more receptive now that he's both a dad again and the champ in less than a week's time span. Trust me, this is as good a time as any. You don't wanna waste this opportunity." Enter the customary ten seconds of extra thought - Tomko being consumed and inspired by the words of a true friend.

"Thanks," he finally stated, which sounded to Christian like he would go through with it.

"No problem. You're gonna thank me for this soon, I think," Christian brashly stated as soon as he got the message.

"Hey, knowing you, I probably will. Now, I think I'm gonna get some shuteye before I drive upstate. Want me to get you Edge again?" Tomko offered, back to his usual self again.

"Nah, just close it. I can talk to him again tomorrow, but right now, I gotta get to my hotel room, think, then get some shuteye of my own," Christian responded. Tomko didn't even snicker at the "think" note - one look at Christian, let alone years of history with him, and one could tell right off the bat that he was the kind of guy who was capable of thinking before stepping off to dreamland and actually enjoying it.

"Hey, thanks for the talk, man. 'Preciate it," Tomko instead offered, starting the goodbyes.

"No problem. I needed to hear somebody other than an angry Edge at the end of the day anyway," Christian once again added for amusement purposes. "But hey- don't forget what I said. And take care, man."

"Don't worry, I won't. See you around, boss," Tomko replied cordially, giving Christian a chuckle at the Coalition days throwback.

"Alright. Say hi to Michelle and the kid for me, will ya?"

"Will do."

"Good. I'll talk to ya later."

"Okay. Peace, Christian."

"Right back at ya."

And on that note, Christian finally pressed "end" on his cell phone, closed it up, put it away, took his travel bag, and stepped out of the locker room. Though, before closing the door behind him, he looked down at the doorknob, and realized he wanted to have some fun. So, with a shady grin coming over his features, the ECW Champion, title on his right shoulder the entire time, turned the knob inside the door to lock it with no one inside, then closed it up and walked away, ready to leave for the hotel, knowing that the arena owner would be pissing off Vince McMahon within the next 24 hours.

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A/N: First off, I would like to comment on recent events since my abruptly ending the WWE custom Christian Coalition fanfic as a result of Victory Road all but draining my will to involve myself extensively in anything long term for the wrestling section. I haven't yet rescinded that vow, if we can call it that at this point, but I've certainly found myself some inspiration to do a two-part shot here - ironically, from the same company that actually killed my extensive spark about two months ago. I don't think I need to explain anything further, as those of you who have watched TNA Impact in the past two months since the event I infamously will always refer to as MEM Victory Road could probably tell about this more than I already know. (Amazingly enough, it's now Raw that's becoming an absolute joke.)

I did watch the past couple of pay-per-views through streams, which TNA apparently allows, and getting to bear witness to the historic shocking moment that this story is about is of course what has moved me to detour from my _Charmed_ directives for just a second. Before I get into ramble mode, this does not mean I'm having any long term extensive ideas ringing in my head to try to carry out here again anytime soon. But this is just something I felt compelled to do. Congrulations, A.J. Styles. Keep flyin'.

Of course, at this point, you know part 2 is coming up. I'll see the community then.

-Pac.


	2. Rising Principles

_Champ Level Conscience_** by Instant Classic Superstar Pac**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, and this has nothing to do with any of my other stories.**

**Rating: T**

**Summary: After winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at No Surrender, A.J. Styles finds congratulations from new and old friends, including one former tag team championship partner with regrets from the past. Two-shot.**

**Chapter 2: Rising Principles**

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If A.J. thought that the feeling of being the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion would subside overnight, he had been terribly mistaken. As soon as he walked into his locker room that night after the championship presentation courtesy of Dixie Carter and the conversation with Christian over the phone, A.J .found that his locker room had been ransacked by a contingent which seemed to be about over half the entire roster. As luck would have it, he'd found out that over the past hour or so after his title win, Consequences Creed had actually taken the time to call a local restaurant he knew about in order to organize a quick makeshift party for Styles and even rebuffed Jeremy Borash from turning into a bachelor party. Apparently, in spite of red-blooded males being the majority of attendance here, Creed was still able to recognize that a husband and father's ascension to glory wasn't something loads of strippers and countless body shots would be very becoming of.

The cast of characters in attendance, of course, was mostly what one would expect - the vast majority consisting of TNA originals and erstwhile frontline resistance members against Kurt Angle's Mafia and now the World Elite captained by Eric Young. Apart from the obvious presence of one Daniels and Lethal Consequences, the members in attendance who followed on to the party at the bar included such names as Team 3D, Beer Money, Inc., most of the TNA Knockouts, Mick Foley, and even Amazing Red and Shark Boy. Awesome Kong and Raisha Saeed, Dr. Stevie Richards and Daffney, the Beautiful People, the World Elite, and the Mafia were probably the only obvious members who didn't attend, though they weren't the only ones.

Sting had found in the middle of the hallway and invited to come by Daniels, but declined saying this was A.J.'s moment and he didn't want to take from it. Rhino, on even more of a grumpy trip than old friend Edge recently, had declined to attend. Suicide, who A.J. and Daniels knew was actually a certain former TNA wrestler and X-Division Champion in disguise, had briefly appeared at the party to raise A.J.'s arm in congratulations, before promptly leaving as abruptly as he'd come. Young had injured Hernandez during the title match so he couldn't be there. Same went for Abyss thanks to the taser shot from Nash in their Legends Championship encounter. Surprisingly, the Motor City Machineguns, Matt Morgan, Sojo Bolt, and Alissa Flash had also appeared. They were each competing to be the life of the party, only to get told off by Daniels and Christy Hemme that the only reason they weren't promptly kicked out was because Morgan and the Guns were against the Mafia enough and Sojo and Alissa hadn't done anything too caustic.

All in all, the feast was one crazy experience. The Guns had actually offered A.J. a video game challenge for the near future, which he'd accepted, proving they weren't entirely the jackasses some thought them to be. Mick Foley came out with a random tale about lions and saber-toothed tigers just to congratulate him on winning the title, providing some welcome humor. Christy spent about five minutes trying to offer A.J. a lap dance, with Daniels and Tara actually playing along and convincing him to take her up on it. Right as he'd finally caved to their wishes, she pie-faced him and joked she'd "tell" his wife Wendy about their "affair", playing the part of the girl with a growing conscience that "couldn't do this anymore". This right before Wendy actually called to tell him she couldn't wait for him to come home, which told him he was getting a party there as well gave him the perfect opportunity to throw the rib back at Christy and Daniels by letting her in on their tricks, drawing some mock complaints.

The highlight, though, was no doubt the irony they'd gotten out of Creed just by asking how he'd pay for all this: that a Mafia dinner preorder, no doubt Angle thinking he was guaranteed to retain the world title despite having pissed off Morgan off to no return, was actually the reason why the restaurant not only had a large and varied enough assortment of food for everyone, but was still open past midnight. Meaning, he'd really just picked up on what Angle already paid for before it could be canceled.

That indeed freed up the floor for the entire roster to dine in as they pleased, not to mention produced one hell of a laugh when combined with the Mafia's failed late attempt to crash the party sans Kevin Nash, who was obviously being spendthrift with his $50 grand, and Samoa Joe. No doubt Joe was trying to avoid being called a sellout for the _n_th time, which one could surmise was also why E.Y. and probably Homicide wouldn't allow World Elite to help this one either. Of course, there were some regrets that Joe and E.Y. were now on the other side and wouldn't share in the spoils of victory in Styles' grandest moment. But all in all, this had been a night he wouldn't trade for the world.

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Four nights of sleep come and gone later, a black Range Rover would pull up into the Impact Zone parking area in the early afternoon. Coming out the two front doors would be A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels, A.J. from the driver's seat. As both men closed the door behind them and headed to the back, they were in the midst of a conversation.

"So, just so you know, you're gonna have to go in by yourself," Daniels informed him as they made it to the back. "I gotta wait out here for Christy."

"Christy? How come?" A.J. asked, popping the trunk in the process.

"She said she'd be coming out here," Daniels replied, briefly stopping to check his watch as A.J. took his travel bag and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship belt, placing the latter on his shoulder, "actually about three minutes from now." He then paused to pick up his own bag and allow A.J. to close the door. "She's in a bit of a shopping mood, I guess, and she wants me to come along. Why she's dragging me into this instead of you, I will never know."

"Hey, the TNA Championship does wonders," A.J. noted, briefly raising the title for a moment. "But hey, I just got a thought. When are you gonna tell her about… well, you know!"

"What?" Daniels asked to get him going.

"You know, the, uh, spicy guy with the red mask, the fire outfit, and the plastic curry over his head?" A.J. tentatively finished his thought, giving gesturing hints along the way.

"A.J., come on! Do you seriously think I'm stupid or something? The second I tell her anything about that, she's gonna hate me for weeks," Daniels pointed out. "Not to mention there's gonna end up being problems at home."

"Why? I thought your wife already knew about you being-"

"Yeah, she does know," Daniels cut him off, knowing what his question would be. "But I don't know if she's seen that six-person tag. She never brought it to my attention after it happened."

"Well, if she knows about it, then I'd be confident that she saw it and explained to the kids that daddy was being a funny man," A.J. assured. "Besides that, I've been pickin' up a strange hint, and I think - now, I don't know this, so don't shout to the world that I told ya, but I think Christy might actually know the truth."

"Really? Like what?" Daniels challenged him to tell.

"Well, for one thing, what about the lap dance she tried to offer me back at the party after No Surrender? I could tell she was just kiddin' right off the bat, which is why I didn't decline too fast, especially since she never really got into the whole thing until after you came along and tried to get me to go with it."

"Uh, that's probably because I came up with the gag," Daniels replied.

"You guys talking about me?" a hyper feminine voice suddenly burst onto the scene. Daniels and A.J. turned and saw Christy Hemme. No surprise there; if she wasn't hanging around Tara Varon, it was definitely their company she tended to grace with her presence.

"Uh, actually, yeah," A.J. replied, with some hesitation only because of Daniels, who offered him a stern glare as expected. "What? No use in sugarcoating it, right?"

"That's right, A.J.," Christy gave him his praises, before turning to Daniels. "So, Chris, you ready to go?"

"Before I say yes, what exactly are you picking up?" the bald man inquired.

"Not much. Just some new rock-out gear," she replied nonchalantly. "I figure you know this kind of thing more than A.J. I mean, that should be obvious."

"Hey, he can do the nice cheesy stuff too," A.J. said, trying to cleverly hint at something that Daniels obviously did not want out.

"Hey, unless you want me to constantly ring you about Karen, you will shut your mouth and tread no further," Daniels threatened as soon as he caught on, which was basically immediately.

"Fine, you win," A.J. reluctantly gave in after a short pause. Daniels had actually played the perfect card against him there. The saga in mention was not a favorable time for him to remember, considering the friendships he basically sacrificed, the thoughts that were far too rampantly going through his head in the crush that had befallen him at the time, and the fact that the only person benefiting from any of it would be one Kurt Steven Angle, the only Olympic gold medalist and one of the biggest assholes in pro wrestling history.

"Okay, let me separate you two before I have to. Come on, Chris, let's go," Christy decided, starting to drag Daniels away by the hand.

"Wait, hold on a second," Daniels stopped her, quickly turning to A.J. "Listen, bro. Tonight, this is your night. Don't ever let anybody take it away from you. You're the man. This is your first Impact as TNA World Heavyweight Champion. Enjoy yourself, just be A.J., fly phenomenal, do what you're gonna do tonight, okay? You've earned this."

"Thanks a lot, man," A.J. acknowledged, before briefly stopping, putting down his travel bag, and gesturing for Daniels to come closer. "Come here, buddy." Enter predictable Kodak moment, as a drop of Daniels' bag later, the most decorated man in TNA history and his prophetic rival and friend were suddenly hugging it out behind the former's SUV. Christy tried to take advantage of this moment, taking out her cell phone and putting it into camera mode, but before she could even finish, let alone take the picture, the hug had already been broken and the two men were beginning to chuckle at her late attempt to get going.

"Aw, man! Why couldn't you guys stay there a little longer?" Christy mock complained, drawing some laughter as well as a quick joyful hug from both guys.

"Okay, look, we're gonna be heading out, okay?" Daniels told A.J. afterwards.

"Alright," A.J. answered. "Be careful, guys."

"Thanks. You too, TNA Champion," Christy replied.

"Oh, and don't forget what I told you, okay? Your night. You earned this," Daniels added.

"Hey, I remember," A.J. replied with a wide grin. "Don't torture each other, okay?"

"Okay! See you later!" Christy sang as Daniels could only laugh.

"See ya," A.J. bade goodbye, as both guys picked up their bags and split up. Daniels followed Christy back to her car at the other end of the parking lot, while Styles headed towards the door to enter Soundstage 21, aka the Impact Zone. However, before he even got to the door, he actually noticed somebody leaning on the wall right next to said door. He barely but clearly could make out the dark blue jeans and black tank top accentuating a set of muscular arms, as well as what appeared to be ink on the arms. Head-wise, he noticed what clearly appeared like a black skullcap with a white design on it, in addition to what looked to be a black goat beard. Instantly, he got some serious flashbacks, both positive and negative, of a man he'd known for a long time over his career in TNA. And while he wanted to treat this man for a friend because of the memories of them joking around together with Christian Cage and their six-month tag team championship reign, especially in the wake of his current world champ status, other recollections, such as those involving the Angle Alliance and a couple of vicious beatdowns, made him instantly cautious around this man.

"Tomko?" he asked, but moreso to himself than anyone else, as he was nowhere near enough for the man to be able to hear him. The more he slowly approached the guy, though, the clearer and more defined his features became, and the more certain he was that it was indeed his former TNA World Tag Team Championship partner, Travis Tomko.

"It is you…" he uttered, once he was within reasonable distance of the man. At this point, Tomko finally opened his eyes and looked at A.J., before giving off a sigh. "Tomko, what are you doing here?" Tomko shook his head at the question.

"That depends. What's your first guess?" Tomko asked back, which actually froze A.J. in his tracks. He had to think about that one. No doubt because he remembered both sides of their history with each other very vividly. It was, after all, a major source of what was supposed to be both guys' evolution into top stars, until Tomko completely turned his back… well, really on himself, and fucked everything up.

"I don't have one," A.J. confessed after awhile. "That's because I don't know which Travis Tomko's standing right in front of me. Are you 'the Man of Principles' Tomko that I could trust to always play Halo 3 with me and have my back? Or are you the hate monger Tomko that drank Kurt Angle's kool-aid and turned on everybody you'd ever been friends with?"

"It's neither, alright?" Tomko immediately replied before A.J. could go any further. "It's neither. It's the Tomko that just came here because he had nothing to do and just decided to check out his old stomping grounds and the new champ in town."

"So, once I walk past you to get inside, you're not gonna jump me and call Kurt and Booker over to finish me off?" A.J. tentatively asked, not quite trusting Tomko completely yet. He hadn't given him and sort of a real reason to at this point, though his reply to "which Tomko was here" was a tough but promising start.

"No. I mean, what do I stand to gain from it? Nothing," Tomko stated plainly. "Which I should've recognized last year when I still had a choice."

"Huh? What was that?" A.J. eagerly asked. He knew he'd heard traces of the old Tomko in there.

"Just forget it. It's not like I can just go back in time and change anything even if I wanted to," Tomko quickly said, trying to brush that brief lapse aside. "So, how are your friends? You know, Daniels and such?"

"Tomko! Stop trying to play the tough guy and just answer my question!" A.J. finally shouted, tired of the holding back. "If this was really about just checking things out and seein' everybody, you would've gone inside and started talking to people. You wouldn't have come right when I was here and waited on me to come to you. You had something that you whnted to say to me. What is it!?"

Tomko once again responded with a sigh, either instead of or before any words. Having already started losing patience at this point, A.J. had immediately assumed the former and started to turn away towards the door. It wasn't until that moment that Tomko saw his opportunity to speak to A.J. and get off the admission that had been boiling in his chest starting to slip away and at last stepped up.

"A.J.!" the big man finally spoke with conviction, getting off the wall as he now commanded A.J.'s attention like he hadn't in quite awhile. "Alright… I'll talk."

"Okay, so what is it?" A.J. asked, becoming a little more optimistic about the possible outcome of this little meeting. That optimism found itself completely fulfilled with this humble confession:

"I'm sorry."

"Wait, what was that?" A.J. asked. True fact, despite his hope that Tomko had come here as a friend, he couldn't believe his ears. He was just starting to think that the tattoo emperor would possibly be willing to.

"I said, I'm sorry, A.J., " Tomko strongly repeated, his annoyance at having to repeat this actually increasing the strength of his response. "I'm sorry that I was a complete jackass last year. I'm sorry that I allowed us to betray Christian Cage, and then betrayed you, actually thinking following Kurt's side was gonna help me in any way. I should've known this guy was using me as a pawn, that he didn't give a **DAMN** about my principles, and that following him would've turned me against everything that I stand for, and all for nothing!" A.J. was completely shock frozen at this point.

"Damnit, A.J.! You think I don't know what indignity I let myself go through doing what I did to you? Becoming what I was becoming!? Trish, Christian, Edge, you, the more I stuck with you guys, the more I learned, the more comfortable I got in the ring, the more my mark was made. But then the whole picture changed and I started drinking Kurt Angle's cow turd- I mean, Kool-Aid, and look what happened to me! Beating the holy hell out of you, and out of Christian. Setting him up to go through a glass table! Actually pretending I gave a shit about helping Kurt keep his ex-wife in check for him when he turned into a trick in the first place just to keep the title! And what was I getting out of it? Beat by guys Matt Morgan and Samoa Joe in about three minutes every week. That's it. I was right back to square one and covered with hate!"

"Wait, hold up. You left TNA in the middle of this, right?" A.J. asked, beginning a short inquisition further. "What was it that got you to walk out that door?" At hearing these questions, Tomko immediately hung his head in thought, revisiting the incident of soul searching that had finally straightened out to him where he'd gone wrong.

"One night, my wife sat me down while our kid was away at school, and she started asking me these questions about what she'd seen me doing on Impact," Tomko began. "It was after the weapons battle royal where Joe pretty much kicked my ass at the end. She basically asked me, why was I still in TNA? What was I still doing there? I tried to explain to her that you and Karen were going out together behind Kurt's back, which is what I thought at the time, but she cut me off right away. Asked me if it was honestly me talking. She told me that just four, five months ago, I would slap myself silly for saying this stuff. She seriously made me watch the tapes of everything I did, and she had at least three ways for every one of them how either my career or my principles were taking major steps backwards. Every single damn time! Do you know how embarrassing that was?"

"I can sorta see it," A.J. tentatively announced in reply.

"Well, I had to really experience it. My wife, schooling me on how I was throwing my soul to the devil out there, and eing absolutely right," Tomko continued his lamentations of shame. "Now, the part that really got me, was when she showed me the tape of the first time I helped Kurt and 3D beat the holy hell outta you. She stopped it right at the point when I was screaming and shouting, 'That's my partner's blood!' Then she took out that tape and showed me the DVD of Bound for Glory '07, where you and I won the tag titles together. She made sure I watched that celebration from our win all the way to when it cut to Kurt Angle trying to order Kevin Nash, the grand wizard of hollow legs, to help him against Sting. Dude… you and I, we looked… no, we **were** so happy to go out there, end the Pacman Jones sideshow, and win the tag team championships together as a team. You and I, we were like brothers, and I screwed it up, and crawled into a pit of hate to try to deny how Kurt played me.

"That's when I finally realized the truth: Kurt had taken everything that I was about and destroyed it by making me his bitch," he concluded. "So I decided right then and there that I had to step away, for my marriage and for my dignity, A.J. So I called Jarrett, I told him I wanted out, and I told him why, then he gave it to me."

"So what was with comin' back for the, uh, the Kevin Nash challenge? You just got beat by Joe in three minutes again, I think," A.J. recalled correctly.

"Nash and Jarrett were still good friends back then, so he found out why I hit the bricks. Decided doing this would give me a good opportunity to talk to Christian after the match, and smashing up with me could get Joe ready for Book," Tomko explained. "So, after I finished up and recovered, we ended up talking, and uh… yeah. Bygones were bygones."

Nodding along, A.J. Styles had slowly taken everything in that Tomko was telling him here. At this point, the whole picture had become clear. What was news to absolutely no one had finally been clear to Tomko for over a year now - Kurt Angle had used his then-wife Karen as a buxom wench to try to divide, conquer, and destroy the Christian Coalition. The first salvo was the thorough excommunication of Christian from the others and from the world title picture, then the subjugation of A.J. and the systematic corruption of Tomko. Finally, as soon as A.J. began to fight back, Tomko would be fully entrenched in the Olympic camp, meaning with Tomko's help he could put down A.J. as a threat for good. How he figured this was that after so long working with Christian and A.J. and not getting a legitimate world title shot, Tomko would've had to get tired of it after a while and considered any change of scenery a move in the right direction. They'd completely fallen for Angle's trap, which was a complete shame especially considering the curveball of Karen's rebellion had never even truly affected it in the least, apart from giving Kurt's scummy plans a moral crutch to be relentless in execution. Tomko saw the truth now, and A.J. knew that he saw it. And just like that, all the furled enmity between Travis Tomko and A.J. Styles was suddenly washed away.

"Thank God I got back up, huh?" A.J. then remarked, a weak but growing grin coming over him.

"That belt right there's proof." Tomko fondly replied, pointing to the world title on A.J.'s shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess so," A.J. finally chuckled. "But, uh… quick question, though. A lotta people say that I was an idiot back then when we were hanging out. Is that true?"

"Definitely," Tomko answered with a growing chuckle of his own. "But not in a bad way. You were more like the lovable kid brother who didn't know when to stop joking around and get serious. It was actually pretty cool the way we played off you, but hey- you had to start being a man somewhere." This gave A.J. a good laugh.

"Thanks, man," A.J. replied. "Hey, you remember that time Jim Cornette presented us the tag titles when we were still with Christian, and then I had this huge list of people and characters and stuff I wanted to thank, but it didn't include Christian?"

"Against my better judgment, I gave you the time to talk, and I'm gonna be honest - seeing Christian startin' to get pissed off at that actually made my day," Tomko recalled, allowing both men a spell of laughter.

"Yeah, we had some good times, didn't we?" A.J. fully progressed into nostalgia mode. "Like all the times that we would find a library where we could play _Halo 3_ together. Christian's Coalition used to kill everybody in Halo 3, even the Guns. No thanks to Christian, though."

"Actually, we could thank Christian. He wasn't very good, but one time we played it after you got conned by Karen and he was so pissed he wouldn't play with us, I had some frustrations to take out, so I fragged you about 90 times," Tomko recalled, to which A.J. found his own face plastered with a look of shock.

"You mean you were hitting me on purpose?" A.J. vocally realized.

"Yes," Tomko simply answered.

"And you enjoyed it?"

"Yes."

"You bastard! For all you know, I could've been on my way to a world record that day!" A.J. complained, to Tomko's laughter.

"Really?" the bigger man jestfully questioned.

"Yes!" A.J. shot.

"A world record?" Tomko questioned.

"Yeah, a world record!" A.J. pronounced with confidence.

"I would've liked to have seen that," Tomko quipped. "But hey, speaking of Christian, I remember one night, before Impact, we were staying at his house, and we had a copy of an anime movie on. It was _Bleach_ something. We snuck into the Cage family theater to watch it because his wife was sleeping."

"Yeah. I remember, after that, I had this dream where we were basically the main cast. I was the orange haired guy with the huge sword, I think he's the main character, Daniels was the Quincy guy with the arrows… I think his name was, Oreo or something?"

"I think it was Uryu," Tomko corrected him. "And your guy's name was Ichigo."

"Oh, right! Thanks, man," A.J. remembered. "Christian was the funny hat guy with the shop that's basically our resource, um… Yusuke, right?"

"Kisuke," Tomko corrected again.

"Damn, you watch often?" the champion asked.

"On occasion," the bigger man replied. " 'Specially when I'm in Japan. Show's a lot farther ahead there, cause that's where it came from."

"Right," A.J. acknowledged. "And you were that big guy, Chad. I remember this one cause the next day I basically called you Chad until the cows came home."

"Seriously. That day I had to give you a schooling on how my name's Tomko," the tattooed Man of Principles recalled.

"Yeah, I think I even called Christian Kisuke one time, and the look on his face…" Styles couldn't stop himself from bursting in laughter at this point.

"Yeah, that was pretty priceless," Tomko pointed out with a chuckle. "There was a lotta stuff we did back then that was priceless. 2007 was a good year until we got to the end, aside from you and me not being world champions."

"Hey, I just enjoyed every second for what it was, man. You, me, Christian, even Daniels sometimes, mostly out the ring, we had some fun times," A.J. stated, the two reminiscing on fond memories. "And at the end of the day, even though I don't like… talking about - or thinking about - what I went through with Karen, God bless, it all helped me out a lot in terms of stepping up as a man and rising to the occasion in front of so many big faces from the part, and I thank God for the path I took every day because, man… this is phenomenal."

"It sure is, and you know what? Not to turn this into the mutual admiration society," Tomko started, "but you really came a hell of a long way from there, just like I should've. TNA World Heavyweight Champion, A.J. Styles… you've certainly earned it, man. I know this is not my place to say this, but I'm proud of you, buddy."

"I never thought today you'd be the one to talk to me like this," A.J. honestly admitted. "I mean, Daniels already did, but you know what I mean…"

"Yeah. And hey, congratulations on the third kid. Say hi to all three of 'em along with your wife for me, will ya?" Tomko offered.

"Wait, you're leaving now?" A.J. asked, a little disappointed at the man's already imminent departure.

"It's not like I had designs on staying here all day or signing a deal to come back to TNA. I just wanted to get what I had to get off my chest to ya, that's it," Tomko told him plainly. "Now, go and be the champ, alright? I'm headed home from here."

"Alright. Hey, thanks for the talk, man,. Glad we had it," A.J. said as the two exchanged a handshake, shoulder bump, and fist bump in succession.

"Same here. I owe Christian big for getting me to go through with it," Tomko replied.

"The vocal courage gifts of Captain Charisma right at work, ain't it?" A.J. asked rhetorically, accentuating Tomko's statement.

"You got it. But hey, speaking of owes, I just remembered," Tomko stalled.

"What is it?" A.J. asked to get it going.

"What are you gonna do about Sting?" Tomko asked back. This question pretty much had A.J. stuck for the time being. I mean, Sting was the man after all that helped A.J. get through this in the final moments, convincing A.J. not to quit TNA a couple of weeks before No Surrender when he thought he couldn't take anymore, then giving himself up to take out Matt Morgan and leave Kurt Angle open for A.J. to finish and take over.

"Oh," was all he could muster for a little while, as he was indeed trapped in a sea of thought about how to handle this Sting situation. There was no doubt he was grateful to Sting for his interference. But he needed to know what the Icon was thinking, and more importantly, why he did what he did. If the answer came from a place befitting the Sting that stood for the betterment of others, he knew just how to rewards him.

"I think I'll talk to him in the ring tonight," A.J. decided.

"Cool. Hope it works out, A.J., cause I think you can trust him. He's one o' the good ones most of the time," Tomko gave his note of confidence, patting A.J. on the shoulder to reassure their rekindled solidity as the other man nodded. "Anyway, I gotta head out. See ya sometime, bro." With that, Tomko turned and began to walk off to the side away from the arena door.

"Bye! Take care, Tomko!" A.J. called out in farewell.

"Yeah!" the goat-bearded one called back, ending their conversation at last. As A.J. watched him leave with a smile and a nod, he knew that their friendship had just been restored - and Christian apparently finally paid off that debt he owed Tomko over that title shot with something that in the end turned out far more important. This actually gave him an idea for a final outburst.

"Hey, it looks you owe Christian now!" he giddily shouted, only getting a quick bird in return.

"Bro, who are you talking to?" a voice suddenly came from behind him, which completely stunned the Phenomenal One. He snapped around and saw that it was Daniels, standing alongside Christy. They hadn't left after all.

"Hey, I thought you guys were goin' out and doin' some shopping," A.J. told them.

"And we thought you were going inside," Daniels replied. "You talking to some body back there?"

"Yeah, but it's just some guy. I wouldn't worry about it," A.J. lied, trying to keep Daniels from worrying too much about who it might've been. Unfortunately, that didn't work, as Daniels caught sight of the large and somewhat familiar man walking towards a bright red car.

"Some guy, huh?" Daniels said to A.J., before running over to the champ's recent visitor. "Hey!" The man turned around just as Daniels reached him and he was quite surprised to see that it was indeed Tomko.

"Don't bite me, Daniels. I just finished talking to A.J.," Tomko immediately explained. "I only came to apologize to him for what I did. I owed it to him, I owed it to myself, and really, I owed it to TNA, but I got no intents on coming back here."

"Tomko! Relax," Daniels cut him off, allowing for a short pause and for Christy to catch up to him before he continued. "So, you finally got your head on straight? I don't have to worry about you jumping A.J. or anything?"

"Nope. It's all been cleared up now," Tomko replied.

"So you and A.J. are friends again, huh?" Christy asked again, receiving a nod from the guest big man. "That's great! In fact, I think that inspired me to tell something. Daniels, I know that you're Curry Man."

"Say what!?" Daniels screamed in total shock that A.J. was right about that one all along. "A.J. told me this, but I didn't-"

"Oh, come on, he's the one who told me!" Christy revealed, which only widened the expression on Daniels' face to the point Tomko got a laugh about it. "Well, more like confirmed it for me, because common sense says that if somebody in a mask sounds like someone you used to know and everything about how they act is either exactly the same or the opposite from the someone you used to know, then it's that person. So I'd figured it out a long time ago, really since the beginning of that Super Eric Prince Justice group vs. Rock 'n Rave Infection thing. That's the only reason I was totally comfortable flirting with you and even letting you kiss me - because I knew it was a joke! In fact, A.J. gave me your wife's phone number. You have no idea how long Lisa and I have been laughing it up talking to each other!"

"Hey, speaking of people who talk to Daniels' wife," Tomko continued, fully capitalizing on Daniels' gob smacked state, "I actually got in touch with her through A.J.'s wife. She's the one who told me when to expect you guys were coming so I knew when to get out my car to meet him."

"Okay, does my wife run some sort of secret export or something? Why is everybody talking to her behind my back?" an exasperated Daniels complained at last.

"Hey, I only did it once," Tomko excused himself.

"That doesn't matter! Christy did it enough for the both of you, and you still did it once!" Daniels shouted.

"Hey, if it makes you hate me any less, A.J. didn't tell you," Christy informed him.

"That's it. I've had it. You people, are evil!" the Fallen Angel entered sudden diatribe mode.

"Actually, no. That's the Main Event Mafia. They're evil. We just love to torture you cause it's fun," Christy explained.

"Christy, you're going by yourself," Daniels suddenly decided out of nowhere.

"What? Oh, come on! Why?" Christy whined in her best teenage-girl impression.

"Because, you just said you love to torture me. I can only imagine what I'll be getting put through at the shop," Daniels retorted.

"Chris, I was just kidding!" Hemme cried some more. "Come on, I promise I'll make it up to you. You'll get to boss me around and pick out everything and make sarcastic comments and everything!"

"I'd go with it if I were you," Tomko pointed out with a smile. "She's giving you the keys to the car. Don't take it, you only got yourself to blame if you never get to drive."

"Uh, you say this like Christy's my wife or something," Daniels contested.

"Well, your little curry stick act basically made her your work wife," Tomko stated, quickly moving on as he saw Daniels about to protest, "and anyway, I gotta get going. See you guys later."

"Okay. Nice to see ya, Tomko! Be careful!" Christy shouted while waving and blowing a kiss goodbye.

"Same to you guys, and don't give my boy a hard time," Tomko gave it back with a small wave of his own before, opening the door to the driver's seat of his car and getting in.

"Right. See you around, big man!" Daniels joined in with a peace gesture, finally fully seeing Tomko as a friend again himself. As Tomko closed the door, started the engine, and drove away, Daniels and Christy turned around and saw A.J. halfway in the door, pointing back and forth between himself and the inside, before finally going in. "Okay, then. Let's go."

"Yay!" Christy cheered as the two walked on towards the opposite side of the lot across from the Soundstage door. Meanwhile, as Travis Tomko drove away from here with his former TNA theme song playing in his car, he did so with a smile. He knew that despite the betrayals of Eric Young and Samoa Joe and the angry turn in Rhino, with friends like Christopher Daniels and Christy Hemme not to mention that little boost from Sting, A.J. Styles would be more than okay as TNA Champ.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

A/N: I have one more piece coming up in this little saga, but it's a one-piece short involving Tomko and the MEM. With it will come my thoughts on the ruin of Tomko early last year. Stay tuned. Won't be too long.

-Pac.


End file.
